Parachute toys



F. HAMMOND PARACHUTE TOYS Sept. 14, 1965 Filed May 24, 1963 IN V EN TOR. fAAA/K HAMMOND United States Patent 3,205,613 PARA'CHUTE TGYS Frank Hammond, RED. 2, lioonton, NJ. Filed May 24-, 1963, Ser. No. 282,914 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-86) This invention relates to a toy of the type in which there is a doll representing a parachute jumper, and having a folded enclosed parachute mounted on its back. The invention is chiefly concerned with improvements in timing mechanism for realistically releasing the parachute from its enclosure following the hurling of the toy into the air.

Heretofore, mechanism proposed for this purpose has been too complicated and expensive. Hence it is a primary object of this invention to provide timing mechanism, shown and described herein, that is not only much cheaper to manufacture, but is easy to assemble, since it is extremely simple with comparatively few parts con structed and arranged to operate along a substantially straight line lengthwise of the doll.

The invention is fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a parachute toy showing an embodiment of the invention, the parts being in an intermediate or neutral position ready for firing the toy into the air.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same, broken out to show the means for holding the parachute pack closed, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, indicates the doll designed to represent a parachute jumper, and having a main body part 11 with a longitudinal opening 12 therein extending upwardly throughout the major portion of its length, and terminating in a fiat surface 13 in the neck of the doll. The lower end 14 of the doll is shaped to resemble the upper part of a pair of legs, and the lower end 12' of opening 12 which extends through it, is enlarged and is preferably rectangular in cross section. The upper end 12" of opening 12 above the rectangular portion, is narrower and cylindrical.

The remaining length of the dolls legs is separately formed and constitutes what may be termed a leg pedestal shaped to be slidably guided within the end 12 of opening 12, and is otherwise proportioned to partially extend from the rest of the doll. The lower end of pedestal 20 is fashioned to resemble feet indicated at 21, which bulge outwardly to facilitate gripping the pedestal, the purpose of which will presently appear. These two parts of the doll may be molded from any suitable material, such as cellulose acetate the weight and strength of which has been found practicable for shooting of the doll into the air, and its proper rate of speed in descending.

The parachute pack is cemented to the back of the doll, and is similar to that shown and described in Patent No. 2,262,395 issued to me Nov. 11, 1941. It is preferably made of cloth and the outer one 26 of its four flaps, is provided at its tip with latching means in the form of a metal Z clip 27 shaped to enter a laterally directed aperture 28 in the back of the dolls neck, and hook over an inner edge thereof intersecting end 12" of the doll opening, and to project inwardly therein, as best shown in FIG. 2.

Timing mechanism is provided for engaging and lifting the clip 27 to free flap 26, which then allows the others to fall away and liberate the folded parachute (not shown) from pack 25. This operation necessarily occurs after the elapse of a suitable period of time during which the toy has an opportunity to reach approximately the top of its flight in the air, and is character- "ice ized in this instance by a naturally existing coordination of the start of the timing cycle and the moment the toy is released from the hand of the operator, and therefore, requires no additional or special mechanism for otherwise achieving this important feature of the invention.

With the foregoing in mind the timing mechanism of this invention comprises a piston element 30 and a cylinder element 31 mounted within opening 12 in the doll in aligned positions substantially coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the opening. Although one or the other of these elements may be secured in a fixed position, and the opposite one arranged to be movable relatively thereto, the piston element 30, in this form of the invention, is preferably the stationary one and is secured to the doll by a transverse pin 32 passing through the lower end of the piston element and secured at its ends in the doll structure.

The cooperating cylinder element 31, within which the piston element is loosely fitted, is tubular with a sub stantial length of its lower end 31, approximately corresponding to the length of leg pedestal 20, secured to and contained therein, or cylinder element 31 may be molded as an integral part of the pedestal. An intermediate part of the cylinder element, above pedestal 20, is provided with diametrically opposed slots 35 extending upwardly lengthwise thereof, and are slidably engageable with pin 32. Slots 35 help to stabilize and guide the reciprocal movement of cylinder element 31.

A helical pull spring 36 positioned within end 31' of cylinder element 31 beneath piston element 30, has its upper end formed with a loop through which pin 32 may be thrust during the assembly operations, thus anchoring that end of the spring. The opposite end of spring 36 is formed to engage a hook 37 on the upper end of a post 38 supported in an upright position at the bottom end of leg pedestal 20 by reason of its threaded engagement with a circular nut 39 seated in the rabbeted lower end of pedestal 20. By rotating nut 39 in one direction or the other, the post 38 may be raised or lowered and the tension of spring 36 accordingly regulated to hasten or retard the movement of the cylinder element commensurate with the approximate height at which it is desired to release the parachute from its pack 25. To prevent the post 38 from rotating with the nut 39 hook 37 is provided with a laterally directed fin 37 at its outer extremity slidably engageable with a slot 40 formed in one side of the lower end of cylinder element 31, and which latter also has a flat surface 41 at its upper or top end.

As shown in FIG. 1, the doll is provided with loops 45 at the top of each shoulder to which the shrouds of the parachute may be fastened, and on the front of the doll there is shown a hook 46 for engagement with the rubber bands of a conventional sling shot, or other elastic means for shooting the toy into the air.

Since it is desirable to free both hands of the operator of the toy so that the parachute may be expeditiously folded and enclosed in the pack 25, means are provided for holding the timing mechanism in an intermediate or neutral position in which the cylinder element 31 is partially lowered with its top surface 41 clear of any interference with clip 27, as shown in full lines in the drawings.

The means provided for this purpose is constructed to be spring tensioned and automatically retractable, and ineludes an element 50 made of elastic material, or otherwise made spring responsive, which is fashioned from a flat strip of metal bent at its lower end to form a base part 51 for attachment to the lower surface of an aperture 53 in the side of part 14 of the doll 10 leading into the lower end 12' of doll opening 12. Metal element 50 is also formed with a hook 54 at its upper end engageable with the top of pedestal 20, as shown in FIG. 3, when leg pedestal 20, constituting a part of the timing mechanism, has been partially pulled down against the resistance offered by pull spring 36.

Element 50 may be covered by a block 60 attached to it and serving to establish a continuity of outline when element 50 is in a retracted position outwardly from that shown in the drawings. t

It will now be apparent that when element 50 is deflected and spring tensioned, as by the touch of a finger following the slight lowering of leg pedestal 20, its hook 54 will extend over and contact the top surface of the leg pedestal and, because of the urge of spring 36 will remain so positioned, and that upon pulling the pedestal further downwardly to propel the toy into the air, element 50 will automatically retract into its normal or disengaging position.

This downward movement of leg pedestal 20, when grasped just above or by feet 21, stretches the spring 36 since it is Weaker than the elastic forces utilized to propel the toy. The extent of the pedestal movement is limited by the engagement of the top inner surface of cylinder element 31 and the outer top surface of the piston element 30, resulting in expelling air trapped in the cylinder element 31 the same escaping around the loosely fitted piston element 30.

Upon releasing pedestal 20 to shoot the doll, the partial vacuum then existent between the two elements draws in air again in the same manner but much slower under the retracting urge of spring 36. The cylinder element 31 rises comparatively slowly until such time as just before its top surface 41 engages the tip of clip 27. Then the upper end of slots 35, or other equivalent opening,

will immediately reach a position above the top of piston element 30, and a full suply of air will be suddenly admitted to cylinder element 31 thus completely killing all remaining vacuum therein. This causes a rapid surge upward of element 31 so that its upper end 41 may impact clip 27 forcefully enough to positively and promptly dislodge it and free the parachute.

Changes within the scope of the appended claims may suggest themselves to skilled persons, and therefore, the foregoing description is to be considered illustrative and not as limiting the invention thereto.

I claim:

1. In a toy formed as a doll representing a parachute jumper and having a pack secured to its back with flaps for enclosing a parachute attached by shrouds to the doll, and with one of said flaps provided with latching means for holding the pack closed, said doll having a longitudinally directed opening therein, timing mechanism mounted in said opening adapted to trip said latching means and liberate the parachute when the toy is projected into the air, comprising a leg pedestal reciprocally mounted within the lower end of said doll opening so as to project downwardly therefrom, a cylinder element and a piston element, one of which is operatively movable with respect to the other, and one of which is secured to said pedestal, spring means within said pedestal one end of which is secured thereto, and a transverse pin supported at its opposite ends in a fixed position in the body of the doll across said opening, and being positioned so as to constitute common means for securing the other end of said spring means and the stationary one of said elements.

2. In a toy formed as a doll representing a parachute jumper and having a pack secured to its back with flaps enclosing a parachute attached by shrouds to the doll, and

with one of said flaps provided with latching means for holding the pack closed, said doll having a longitudinally directed opening therein, timing mechanism mounted in said opening adapted to trip said latching means and liberate the parachute when the toy is projected into the air, comprising a leg pedestal reciprocally mounted within the lower end of said doll opening so as to project downwardly therefrom, a cylinder element and a piston element within the same, the cylinder element being secured to said leg pedestal and movable therewith, spring means within said pedestal one end of which is secured thereto, and a transverse pin supported at its opposite ends in a fixed position in the body of the doll across said opening, and being positioned so as to constitute common means for securing the other end of said spring means and said piston element, the cylinder element having diametrically opposed slots slidably engageable with said pin.

3. In a toy formed as a doll representing a parachute jumper and having a pack secured to its back with flaps for enclosing a parachute attached by shrouds to the doll, and with one of said flaps provided with latching means for holding the pack closed, said doll having a longitudinally directed opening therein, timing mechanism mounted in said opening adapted to trip said latching means and liberate the parachute when the toy is projected into the air, comprising a leg pedestal reciprocally mounted Within the lower end of said opening so as to project downwardly therefrom, a cylinder element and a piston element Within the same, the cylinder element having its lower end extending within said pedestal and being secured thereto, a helical pull spring within the pedestal one end of which is secured thereto and the other end to said doll, and normally retracted spring means constructed and positioned to engage said pedestal under tension and hold it in an intermediate or neutral position while loading and latching said pack.

4. In a toy formed as a doll representing a parachute jumper and having a pack secured to its back With flaps for enclosing a parachute attached by shrouds to the doll, and with one of said flaps provided with latching means for holding the pack closed, said doll having a longitudinally directed opening therein, timing mechanism mounted in said opening adapted to trip said latching means and liberate the parachute when the toy is projected into the air, comprising a leg pedestal reciprocally mounted within the lower end of said opening so as to project downwardly therefrom, a cylinder element and a piston element Within the same, the cylinder element having its lower end extending within said pedestal and being secured thereto, a helical pull spring within the pedestal one end of which is adjustably secured thereto and the other end to said doll, and the means for adjusting the tension of said pull spring comprising an upright threaded post terminating in a hooked upper end engaging the lower end of said spring, and a nut for said post rotatably seated in the bottom of the pedestal, said uper hooked end being provided with a laterally projecting fin engageable with a slot formed in the adjacent end of the cylinder element to prevent 1,723,343 8/29 Ferrill 46-86 2,262,395 11/41 Hammond 46-86 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A TOY FORMED AS A DOLL REPRESENTING A PARACHUTE JUMPER AND HAVING A PACK SECURED TO ITS BACK WITH FLAPS FOR ENCLOSING A PARACHUTE ATTACHED BY SHROUDS TO THE DOLL, AND WITH ONE OF SAID FLAPS PROVIDED WITH LATCHING MEANS FOR HOLDING THE PACK CLOSED, SAID DOLL HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY DIRECTED OPENING THEREIN, TIMING MECHANISM MOUNTED IN SAID OPENING ADAPTED TO TRIP SAID LATCHING MEANS AND LIBERATE THE PARACHUTE WHEN THE TOY IS PROJECTED INTO THE AIR, COMPRISING A LEG PEDESTAL RECIPROCALLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE LOWER END OF SAID DOLL OPENING SO AS TO PROJECT DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM, A CYLINDER ELEMENT AND A PISTON ELEMENT, ONE OF WHICH IS OPERATIVELY MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER, AND ONE OF WHICH IS SECURED TO SAID PEDESTAL, SPRING MENS WITHIN SAID PEDESTAL ONE END OF WHICH IS SECURED THERETO, AND A TRANSVERSE PIN SUPPORTED AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS IN A FIXED POSITION IN THE BODY OF THE DOLL ACROSS SAID OPENING, AND BEING POSITIONED SO AS TO CONSTITUTE COMMON MEANS FOR SECURING THE OTHER END OF SAID SPRING MEANS AND THE STATIONARY OF SAID ELEMENTS. 